Thermae Romae
With the first film based off of the manga Thermae Romae having landed back in 2012 and bringing in $74 million, it really wasn’t a surprise that a sequel would get green lit. That’s the case as we now have the first trailer for Thermae Romae 2, which is just mostly character shots and some of the expected water visuals, which will delight the fans of the original manga. That work, created by Mari Yamazaki for Enterbrain, is being published in North America by Yen Press. The limited run six episode anime TV series from noitaminA has been licensed by Discotek Media for North American and Siren Visual for Australia.
Original Manga Plot Concept: The story follows a Roman architect named Lucius, who is having trouble coming up with ideas. One day, he discovers a hidden tunnel underneath a spa that leads him to a modern Japanese bath house. Inspired by the innovations found there, he creates his own spa, Roma Thermae, bringing in the modern ideas to his time.
Each subsequent chapter follows Lucius facing some sort of a problem, just to be swept to Japan once again. He visits modern bath houses, personal baths, waterparks, fertility festivals, and even zoos. There, he always happens to find the inspiration to solve the exact problem he has been tasked with.